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Asia

Europe

Interserve cleans-up on environmental practices

Interserve’s cleaning operation business has implemented a series of changes that have not only improved its environmental impact - but has improved performance and created efficiencies.

The company employs more than 24,000 cleaners across its Support Services business who are based at clients ranging from supermarket chains through to small private businesses, the NHS and Government offices.

Janet Park, director of cleaning, systematically overhauled the way Interserve’s cleaning business operates in order to dramatically improve efficiency, reduce costs and reduce the firm’s environmental impact.

Two key aspects of the changes that Janet rolled out including installing dilution-controlled cleaning – and cutting down on the different products the company used to a select handful.

Janet said: “We changed from a glug glug approach in which our cleaners were using thousands of products from 1,800 different product lines to a rational approach which has seen us reduce it to one main cleaning system with four products.”

Three of the products cover 85 per cent of Interserve’s daily cleaning needs and we have further reduced consumption because our dispensing systems control usage, ensuring each cleaner uses the ideal quantity of product.

Janet said: “We install the dilution systems at all of our major clients free of charge and ship highly concentrated supplies to each site to fill up the machine.

“For our smaller sites, we supply a similar system using dilution-controlled bottles. Being coloured coded the system is not only simple to use but is also safer for our people as there is no-longer any risk of touching undiluted chemicals.

“As is so often the case, moving to a rational, efficient process not only saves everyone money, but it also has an extremely positive impact on the environment.”

Whereas Interserve’s cleaning business was using hundreds of thousands of plastic bottled chemicals, which also incurred significant transportation costs, the firm now mainly uses four environment-friendly pouches, each of which can dilute up to 1,250L of ready-to-use solution.

Janet said: “The rationalisation programme included looking at the equipment we use to carry out our business. For example, we’ve moved to using one holder for all of our brooms, mops and brushes.

“This measure means that we have a more rational purchasing structure, can buy at volume and decrease wastage.”

The company’s 24,000 cleaners use roughly £17million worth of clean products per year ensuring that clients’ premises are in the best possible condition. Some contracts, such as with the NHS, require the highest professional standards to help meet rigorous health and safety levels.

To further underline Interserve’s green credentials, the cleaning business sources paper products from a firm committed to sustainability and forestry management, while all of the washroom paper products are made from recycled fibres.

Janet, who joined Interserve two years ago, added: “We have found that adopting these practices is not only the right thing to do, but also makes business sense.”

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About Interserve

Interserve is one of the world’s foremost support services and construction companies. Everything we do is shaped by our core values. We are a leader in innovative and sustainable outcomes for our clients and a great place to work for our people. We offer advice, design, construction, equipment, facilities management and frontline public services. We are headquartered in the UK and FTSE-listed. We have gross revenues of £3.7 billion and a workforce of circa 75,000 people worldwide.